January 2003 Central Mass Bird Sightings

Sightings are listed in reverse chronological order. The email address of birders submitting reports, as well as other Central Massachusetts birding info can be found via the Central Mass Bird Update homepage.

Bird News:

Bird Sightings:

1/31/03 -- WPI athletic fields, Worcester
We have been monitoring the unusual ground roosting crow flock that has been forming at times on the WPI A-field. For the last two nights, there have been NO crows on the A-Field, but 210+ roosting on the snow covered surface of the WPI tennis courts across the street on Bancroft Tower Hill. Tonite there were an additional 300+ crows int he trees around the courts. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/31/03 -- Institute Park, Worcester
Throughout the winter there is almost always a little open water in the stream coming into the back side of Salisbury Pond. Enjoying this water today at noon were 3 Common Mergansers (1m, 2f) along with 1 Great Blue Heron and approx. 60 Mallards. (report from Rick Quimby).

1/30/03 -- Fitchburg
This afternoon while waiting to pick my son up at school in Fitchburg a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker landed, and then appeared to feed, in a nearby apple tree. (report from Chuck Caron).

1/30/03 -- Hadwen Park/Curtis Pond, Worcester
The bird highlights were 1 female Belted Kingfisher, 4 Song Sparrows, 1 adult Red-tailed Hawk. Near the railroad trestle where a Birch tree overhangs the pond are fresh Otter signs from this morning. There are fresh droppings, partially eaten fish, and a couple of slides on the snow going down the banking where Otter tracks lead to a couple of holes in the ice. Easy access to see this would be to park in the back of Notre Dame Cemetery and walk across the very safe ice. This site is about 60 feet from the trestle on the park side. (report from Brian Mulhearn)

1/26/03 -- MA Blackstone River mainstem
With all water frozen tight here in Central MA, snow packed hard on the ground, we decided if ,somehow, there could be some ducks on the Blackstone River in MA. We birded the mainstem ONLY, not any of the major feeder rivers, and only birded the road crossings. As one can imagine, long sections of the river were indeed frozen, but where there was open water, often there were a few ducks. It is important to remember that the Blackstone is a small river with many sections narrow enough to toss a rock across. Here are the totals: Mute Swan (2); Canada Goose (90); Wood Duck (2m, one of which seemed "with" a female Mallard); Mallard (678); A. Black Duck (41); N. Pintail (1); Ring-necked Duck (1m); Hooded Merganser (18); Common Merganser (59);
Other interesting birds included: Cooper's Hawk (2); Red-tailed Hawk (6); Red-bellied Woodpecker (2); Carolina Wren (5); Cedar Waxwing (49); EASTERN TOWHEE (m in Grafton);
We then birded the NORTHBRIDGE SEWER BEDS, also part of the Blackstone National Corridor and had a nice selection of birds, almost all of which were in the "outflow" marsh which we worked for sometime: Canada Goose (13); A. Wigeon (2m); Mallard (132); A. Black Duck (14); N. Pintail (2m); Belted Kingfisher (1); Carolina Wren (3); Winter Wren (1); Field Sparrow (1); Song Sparrow (12); Swamp Sparrow (minimally 3); RUSTY BLACKBIRD (2); So not EVERYTHING has left the frozen interior of MA! (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/25/03 -- downtown Worcester
Near the Court House, I saw a red-tailed hawk make a clumsy attempt at catching a rock dove, and a peregrine falcon swooped near the red-tailed hawk; all within the span of about 5 seconds. (report from Richard Spedding).

1/25/03 -- Leesville Pond, Auburn
The highlight was a singing Carolina Wren. There were also 4 A. Tree Sparrows, and 1 adult Red-tailed hawk. (report from Brian Mulhearn)

1/23/03 -- Sherborn
Frigid temps and a newborn baby (1/15) mean plenty of time to feeder-watch. I've had repeated visits from a Red-Bellied Woodpecker and one visit from a Northern Flicker, both of whom have been right on the ground eating seed (and various Christmas nuts!). Aside from the common winter visitors, I've had a golden-crowned kinglet and a few white-throated sparrows (unusual here, anyway.) I've also spotted an enterprising mouse (vole?) popping out of his snow tunnel near my feeder and grabbing some seeds. Also spotted a northern mockingbird and two eastern bluebirds right down the street two days ago. (report from George Moore).

1/23/03 -- Hadwen Park, Worcester
With the current cold snap, the pond and river are as frozen as I've ever seen, and today the only ducks were a pair of Hooded Mergansers, whereas a week ago there were almost 200 ducks here. Also today there was 1 immature Red-tailed hawk on the hunt, and the Chickadees were singing their feebee song. I saw a Red Fox out at mid-day obviously looking for food. I found fresh Otter droppings, must be the pair I saw many times at Leesville Pond this past autumn, they must be following the open water. Also at the bend of the river between the park and Notre Dame Cemetery, at the edge of the river where the old dirt pile in the back of the cemetery used to be there is a big Beaver Hut. All this less than 6 blocks from Main Street Worcester! (report from Brian Mulhearn)

1/22/03 -- South Nelson Road, Sterling
I snowshoed to a wooded swamp off South Nelson Road and saw 2 golden-crowned kinglets, 30 robins and 35 cedar waxwings; the robins were feeding on rose hips and the waxwings seemed to prefer bittersweet berries. (report from Richard Spedding).

1/21/03 -- WICN studios: 6 Chatham Street, Worcester
The following was sent to me by my engineer (Chief Engineer for the Station, Kyle Warren about the Peregrine. This bird has been regular around Chaham Street. (report from Mark Lynch).

1/20/03 -- Rowley Hill, Sterling
A cross country ski trip along the base of Rowley Hill produced 13 wild turkeys; 2 bluebirds; 12 robins, a red-bellied woodpecker and 4 golden-crowned kinglets. (report from Richard Spedding).

1/19/03 -- Southern Blackstone National Corridor
We counted what waterfowl there were left at the very cold and increasingly frozen southern end of the BLACKSTONE NATIONAL CORRIDOR. Even with much less open water than a few weeks ago, there was a very nice variety and very good numbers of waterfowl.
SEEKONK RIVER (from India and Bold Points north to Pawtucket. The main stem of the Seekonk was 80% frozen. There was a nice concentration of ducks near the outflow pipe): Great Cormorant (21: including a flock of 18 circling high over Providence); Mute Swan (8); Canada Goose (553); Gadwall (16); A. Wigeon (42); Mallard (385); A. Black Duck (239); Canvasback (194); Greater Scaup (88); Lesser Scaup (17); Ring-necked Duck (6); Bufflehead (61); C. Goldeneye (4); Hooded Merganser (159); Common Merganser (176); Red-breasted Merganser (22); Ruddy Duck (36); Cooper's Hawk (2ad: 1 on one of the ruined wharves at Bold Pt., eating a Rock Diove); Red-tailed Hawk (3); VIRGINIA RAIL (1); E. Screech Owl (1 Red-ph); Bonaparte's Gull (only 1 now); Ring-billed Gull (504); Herring Gull (162); Great Black-backed Gull (69); N. Flicker (1); Fish Crow (2); Swamp Sparrow (1);
JAMES TURNER RESERVOIR (98% frozen) Mute Swan (8); Canada Goose (159); Mallard (202); A. Black Duck (1); Canvasback (7); Ring-necked Duck (2); Common Merganser (6); N. Harrier (1 imm flew overhead and flushed all the gulls into the air); A. Coot (20); Ring-billed Gull (460); Herring Gull (67); Great Black-backed Gull (4);
TEN MILE RIVER (Broadway crossing): Wood Duck (3); Mallard (232); A. Black Duck (2); Hooded Merganser (7);
N. CENTRAL STATE AIRPORT, LINCOLN N. Flicker (1); Yellow-rumped Warbler (5);
RT. 146 FROM PROVIDENCE TO WORCESTER: Red-tailed Hawk (13: 6 in RI, 7 in MA);
(report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/19/03 -- Wachusett Reservoir, Clinton
This morning along Chace Hill Road there was a Common Raven and a Hermit Thrush. At gate 39 there were 6 Eastern Bluebirds. The numbers of ducks at South Meadow pond have been dwindling: 5 Mallards, 1 Canada Goose, 1 Hooded Merganser. (report from Peter Morlock).

1/17/03 -- WPI Athletic Fields, Worcester
At 8:15PM this evening, Sheila and I drove past the Worcester Polytechnic Institute A-fields. Out on one of the the snow covered fields, standing and many actually looking like they were also tucked down in the snow, were about 350-400 crows somewhat tightly packed like you would see gulls in a parking lot. Several hundred others were in the small trees around the field and flying down to sit in the snow all the time. There was very little calling and the birds, once settled, were bizzarely still. It looked totally weird. This has actually been going on for about a week and a half here and birds have been seen as late as 9:30, but we are not sure if they are here through out the night. One unusual feature is that this field is lit up at night, at least partially, by flood lights. Adjacent dark fields had NO crows on them. Though I have seen winter crow roosts hundreds of times, they have always been in trees and adjacent buildings. I have never seen crows roosting at night on the ground in snow. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

[ed. note: for more discussion on this see postings on massbird]

1/17/03 -- off Salisbury, near Park Ave, Worcester
Last night (Thursday 1/16) while watching "Must See TV" at 8:15PM, we noticed an Eastern Sceech Owl calling right outside the window. Though we have had Screech Owls every once in a while (we live in the city of Worcester on a very residential street so owls are not common fare here in the least), this owl has been calling of and on for the last few days, mostly between 4AM and 6AM. This bird was giving the "Type-A" song of the male, the quavering trill (as opposed to the whinny or "B-song"). Each trill would go on for several seconds, there would be a 30 sec-minute gap and then it would call again. This time the bird did not stop and called off and mostly on till 4AM right outside our bedroom window. Though a soft and non-intrusive call, as birders, we instictively would wake up every time we heard the call (well-learned knee-jerk field skills). It was calling around the clock from 8:15PM till 4AM. Consequently we got no sleep (loooooong night), but we are more than happy that an owl is calling our tiny yard and surrounding area of our home, for now at least. The bird only stopped when it began to snow. According to Paul Johnsgard (NORTH AMERICAN OWLS: BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY), he quotes Gehlbach (1986) and says that this Type-A call starts to be given in January, though it gets even more vigorous in March and April (goodbye sleep!). This call is also "the bird's chief signal of nest cavity ownership" (pp.114). This morning we went out at dawn and found several likely looking nest holes in deciduous trees right next to us and hopefully this bird will find a mate. One of the attractions for the owl of our immediate area I am sure are all the small birds roosting during the night that come to the feeder during the day and the mice attracted to the spilt seed at night. (report from Mark Lynch).

1/17/03 -- Hadwen Park, Worcester
Over 3 hours at mid-day we had the following highlights: 1 Common Raven soaring by overhead, 1 immature Cooper's Hawk, 1 small adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 very white underneath Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 5 prs. Hooded Mergansers, and 1 Great Black Backed Gull. (report from Brian Mulhearn)

1/16/03 -- off Salisbury, near Park Ave, Worcester
While watching Friends and eating Chinese food, our "Must See TV" was interrupted by the constant calling of the Eastern Screech Owl right outside our window from 8:15PM onward. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/15/03 -- Central Turnpike, Sutton
I saw a male blue bird in Sutton, MA at 8:15am today at the cross of Central Turnpike and Route 146. (report from Nan Holmes).

1/13/03 -- Westborough WMA, Westborough
The Merlin continues to patrol the cornfields of the Little Chauncey entrance. Also seen late in the day were 2 Flickers and 50+ American Robins overhead. (report from Chris Buelow)

1/13/03 -- off Salisbury St near Park Ave., Worcester
An Eastern Screech Owl called almost continuously from a pine in our yard between 4AM and 6AM this morning. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/13/03 -- Westchester/Winchester Sts., Auburn
I thought that my 13 year old daughter, Mattie, was pulling my leg last Friday when she told me that she had seen 1,000 American Robins on the way to her school bus stop, but I saw them at 7 a.m. this morning, hundreds of Robins, that had been roosting in trees in the Westchester/Winchester Sts. neighborhood of Auburn. It was an amazing sight as they filled the sky and made quite a bit of noise. (report from Colleen Morin).

1/12/03 -- Fernald School, Templeton
Hilites from birding the Fernald School area this afternoon was 1 Raven and approx. 50 Wild Turkeys, marching single file through deep snow toward the feeding station (the back side of the cows). (report from Tom Pirro).

1/12/03 -- Seekonk River, Providence RI
We censused waterbirds along the Seekonk River that forms the border between Providence and East Providence from India/Bold Points north to Pawtucket. This area is part of the Blackstone National Corridor. Nothing earth-shattering, but decent numbers of overwintering birds: Double-crested Cormorant (1imm); Great Comrorant (6); Mute Swan (8); Gadwall (3); A. Wigeon (14); Canada Goose (566); Mallard (190); A. Black Duck (226); Greater Scaup (31); Bufflehead (249); Common Goldeneye (26); Hooded Merganser (26); Common Merganser (16); Red-breasted Merganser (85); Red-tailed Hawk (2); Bonaparte's Gull (51); Ring-billed Gull (620); Herring Gull (308); Great Black-backed Gull (102); E. Screech Owl (1); Fish Crow (1); A. Robin (122). (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/12/03 -- Elm Park area, Worcester
At dusk there were a few hundred American Crows coming in to roost just across Park Street from Elm Park. (report from Chris Buelow)

1/12/03 -- Maple St., West Boylston
This morning a Cooper's Hawk buzzed by our feeder, but came up empty-handed. Just before this, it was interesting to see the songbirds (such as a Song Sparrow) freeze in response to alarm calls. (report from Rick Quimby).

1/11/03 -- Rocky Narrows, Sherborn
At the Trustees of Res. I had some nice looks at a Pileated Woodpecker, and saw a pair of Hooded Mergs in the Charles River. Later, I had a Red-bellied woodpecker visit my feeder a few times, among the usual cast of winter characters (B Jays, Crows, juncos, Tufted titmice, house sparrows, hairy woodpeckers). (report from George Moore).

1/11/03 -- Moore Hill Rd., Athol
A beautiful Carolina Wren that has been seen over the past week at the bottom of Moore Hill Road. (report from Gregory Watkevich).

1/11/03 -- Coachlace Pond, Clinton
A late afternoon survey of the small spring-fed hidden pond at the southern end of Coachlace Pond Clinton and it's overflow had the following totals: Canada Goose (210); Wood Duck (1m); Mallard (190); A. Black Duck (31); C. Goldeneye (2f); Hooded Merganser (7); We went to Wachusett for gulls. At about 3:30 a large (300+) distant group of gulls that had been perched at the edge of a small open area of water in the ice flew up and scattered over towards Scar Hill Bluffs. Later, at the gate 36 dike off Rt. 110, we watched another 400+ on the ice off the southern end of Cemetery island. We were standing right next to a parked MDC vehicle. The MDC person was talking to us, asking us how many gulls, ducks et, we saw, when suddenly, without a "heads up" he gets out of the car and right next to us begins to fire off the gun to scare the gulls. The gulls promptly headed south as well as the 20 Common Mergansers and 2 scaup and 3 Goldenye that were in front of us and also scared by the gun. (report from Mark Lynch).

1/10/03 -- Miller's Pond, Barre
Today around noon there was a first year Iceland Gull amongst the masses roosted upon Miller's Pond; Miller's is the pond roadside route 122 near the Barre Landfill. (report from Chris Buelow)

1/9/03 -- Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston
Gate 22 and Scar Hill at Wachusett Reservoir were NOT the places to be if you wanted to see gulls. The gulls chose to assemble far to the west of Scar Hill near the power lines at the Route 12/140 causeway and far to the north of gate 22 near Wood Island. I spent the afternoon at Scar Hill. There was however a good variety of water birds. There were 1 Common Loon, 2 Red-necked Grebes, 2 Horned Grebes, 1 Pied-billed Grebe, 2 Black Ducks, 4 Greater Scaup, 1 Lesser Scaup, 5 Common Goldeneyes, 6 Hooded Mergansers and 40 Common Mergansers. I saw an immature Bald Eagle (basic III) with a white head and white tail with a black band. The other immature eagle seen was a brown probably 2 year old bird. That means that there could be 4 Bald Eagles at the reservoir ( 2 adults and 2 immatures). (report from Bart Kamp).

1/9/03 -- Worcester St., West Boylston
At 11:45 this morning there were 2 adult Bald Eagles soaring low over the houses. I rushed to my house on Maple St. nearby, but missed them as "yard birds". (report from Rick Quimby).

1/8/03 -- Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston
Fran McMenemy and I were at different locations at Wachusett Reservoir late this afternoon. Amongst the birds seen were 3 Red-necked Grebes, 1 adult Glaucous Gull and 1 second year Iceland Gull. There have been 3 Bald Eagles at the reservoir. They are constantly spooking the gulls. Today 1 adult and 1 immature Bald Eagle were seen on the ice. About 75% of the reservoir is now iced over. The gulls may be viewed from the gate 22 peninsula or from Scar Hill if you like the icy wind. (report from Bart Kamp).

1/7/03 -- Curtis Pond, Worcester
There was a male Gadwall with a pair of Hooded Mergansers behind the H&R Block building on Stafford St. (report from Brian Mulhearn)

1/7/03 -- Rowley Hill Area, Sterling
I went cross country skiing after sunset along the base of Rowley Hill in Sterling with the goal of hearing some owls calling. I did not hear any, but when I was in the middle of Rowley Hill's biggest pasture an owl flew by, very close to me. I guess it was a barred owl; there was a tiny bit of twilight left, and a 1/4 moon and the snow gave fair light; it was the right size and the barred owl is by far the most commonly encountered owl in this particular area. Surely that owl could see me skiing in the middle of this treeless pasture, yet it passed surprisingly close to me; I would have thought it would have given me a lot more room in its passage. (report from Richard Spedding).

1/6/03 -- Hatchet Brook Valley, Southbridge
While snowshoeing I have encountered a very large population of American Robins gathering here in the Hatchet Brook Valley....They are roosting on 30 acres of private land in Southbridge Ma.. Over the last 4 years there has been a group from 50 to perhaps a couple hundred that winter over, but during the last few weeks that amount has steadily incereased to what I conservatively estimate is a flock well over a thousand coming to the pine and spruce groves each evening about an hour or so before dark (truly an amazing sight and sound)... These Robins are feeding on sumac, choke cherry, silver buffalo berries and bittersweet.... (report from Billy Bluefeather).

1/5/03 -- Bolton Flats, Bolton
Snow shoeing at Bolton flats this morning I saw the following: 31 C. Geese, 3 Swans (flyovers), 1 Red Tail, 1 Ring-neck Pheasant (made it through hunting season and one tough winter so far), 7 Downy Woodpeckers, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers,2 N. Flickers,1 Brown Creeper, 5 Robin, 15 Cedar Waxwing, 2 N. Mockingbird, 5 Song Sparrows, 11 Tree Sparrows, 2 White -throated Sparrows, 9 N. Cardinals, and 51 Goldfinch. (report from John Shea).

1/5/03 -- Flint Pond by Stringer Dam, Shrewsbury
Today there were: 1 Wood Duck (1 male); 3 Ring-Necked Duck (1 male, 2 female); 2 Mute Swans (1 male, 1 female); 6 Mallard (3 male, 3 female); 1 (possible) Rough-Legged Hawk being harassed by 3 American Crows.
Yesterday (1/4), there were 3 Wood Ducks (3 male); 2 Mute Swans (1 male, 1 female); 4 Mallards (2 male, 2 female). (report from Angie Govatsos).

1/3/03 -- Ashburnham Center
Bev and I went to Ashburnham Center yesterday to see and photograph the flock of Cedar Waxwings reported in Tom Pirro's posting of 12/30/02. We stopped at the post office parking lot on Rt 12 and found about twenty Waxwings feeding on the fruit of a Mountain Ash. We were able to photograph a few. (view 1, view 2). They are indeed fine looking birds. In view 3 I photographed the back of a mature bird - identified by the bright red waxy substance found on the secondaries, together with a cluster of ice encrusted coral red berries of the Mountain Ash. The pigment responsible for the color of the fruit is very similar in color to the pigment found in the wax and may well be one of the major sources of the pigment found on the bird feathers. The pigment is absent or present to only a very limited extent in second year birds (view 4) and this probably reflects the fact that the younger birds have not eaten enough of the fruit to amass the pigment in their feathers. (report and photos by Bob Ricci).

1/3/03 -- Westborough WMA to Cedar Hill, Westborough
A mid-day walk from Westborough WMA to Cedar Hill along the conservation trails turned up highlights of Merlin(1 Westborough WMA), Peregrine Falcon(1, seen overhead at Cedar Hill, flying north), Sharp-shinned Hawk(1 adult, Crane Swamp), Northern Flicker(1), American Robin(286), Hermit Thrush(1, Westborough WMA), Gray Catbird(1, 'The Field' at base of Cedar Hill). (report from Chris Buelow)

1/3/03 -- Leesville Pond, Worcester
In the late morning there were 1 Common Merganser, 12 Hooded Mergansers, 53 Canadian Geese, 5 Mallards, 2 Black Ducks, 1 Herring Gull, 6 Ring-Billed Gulls, 1 Great Black-Backed Gull, and 1 Northern Mockingbird. (report from Brian Mulhearn)

1/2/03 -- Westboro WMA, Westboro
During a late afternoon walk through the Westboro Wildlife Management area I saw the following birds: Sharp-shinned Hawk-1; Red-bellied Woodpecker-1; American Robin- 15; Golden-crowned Kinglet-3; NORTHERN SHRIKE-1; American Tree Sparrow-2; White-throated Sparrow-3; Song Sparrow-4. (report from Laura Lane).

1/1/03 -- Forbush Bird Club New Year's Day 2003 Trip
At noon, on New Year's Day, 15 members and guests of the Forbush Bird Club participated in a 3 hour trip led by Joan Zumpfe. Initially, the weather was calm, overcast and in the low 40's. Our stops included Notre Dame Cemetery; downtown Worcester; Lake Quinsigamond viewed from behind Maronis Park and Vinny Testa's Restaurant; Wachusett Reservoir's South Bay;and lastly, gate 26 near the Stone Church in West Boylston. The trip was shortened due to increasingly heavy rains that started before 2 p.m. Highlights included: Wood Duck 1 drake (Lake Quinsig.); Tufted Duck 1 drake; Greater Scaup 47; Common Goldeneye ; Hooded Merganser; Red-tailed Hawk 4; MERLIN 1 (in Shrewsbury); American Coot 4 (Lake Quinsig.); ICELAND GULL 1 (South Bay); SWAMP SPARROW 1 (Notre Dame) ;
complete trip list here (report from Joan Zumpfe).

1/1/03 -- Worcester
Fran McMenemy and I checked out some places we were unable to see on Tuesday due to the fog. Highlights are:
WACHUSETT RESERVOIR: Common Loon 6; Mute Swan 3; Tufted Duck 1 drake; Greater Scaup 47; Common Goldeneye 24; Hooded Merganser 103; Common Merganser 149; Merlin (Gate 36);
INSTITUTE POND Hooded Merganser 8;
LAKE QUINSIGAMOND Nortern Shoveler 1 drake American Coot 4 Hooded Merganser 2 (pair) (report from Joan Zumpfe).

1/1/03 -- Parker's Pond, Gardner
The best bird from some New year's birding was an adult Glaucous Gull on Parker's pond in Gardner. Parkers pond is approx. a mile outside of down town Gardner on Rte 68, about a 1/2 mile from the dump. Typically gulls will roost on this pond and "shuttle" back and forth to the landfill. This time of year I don't believe any gulls are roosting over night in the area; perhaps the closest overnight roost site would be Wachusett Resevoir. (report from Tom Pirro).

1/1/03 -- Blackstone National Corridor
We did what has now become our traditional year kick-off in the Blackstone National Corridor. We started with about 2 hours of owling with the following totals: MA: Great Horned Owl (7); Barred Owl (3); N. Saw-whet Owl (3) RI: Great Horned Owl (3); Barred Owl (2); N. Saw-whet Owl (6).
Then, in the order visited (highlights and selected complete counts)
DURFEE HILL WMA, GLOCESTER RI: Pileated Woodpecker (1); Carolina Wren (2);
WATERMAN RESERVOIR, SMITHFIELD RI: Canada Goose (89); Mallard (5); Hooded Merganser (11); Belted Kingfisher (2); Long-eared Owl (thanks to jays I found this bird and because it was in an area where it could be easily seen and NOT likely a permanent roost tree, and on private property, I sent the location down RI Birds. I doubt it will be there tomorrow); N. Flicker (1); A. Robin (12); Yellow-rumped Warbler (2 working shoreline along Rt 44);
HOPKINS POND, SMITHFIELD: Canada Goose (10); Mallard (52); Belted Kingfisher (1);
SPRAGUEVILLE POND, SMITHFIELD RI: Wood Duck (2); A Black Duck (2); Mallard (63); Ring-necked Duck (9); Hooded Merganser (9); E. Bluebird (2); Swamp Sparrow (2);
SEEKONK RIVER: (from Bold Pt to Pawtucket) Pied-billed Grebe (1); Great Comrorant (20); Double-crested Cormorant (1imm); Canada Goose (76); A. Wigeon (20); Gadwall (4); Mallard (170); A. Black Duck (149); Canvasback (16); Greater Scaup (29); C. Goldeneye (34); Bufflehead (170); Red-breasted Merganser (15); Common Merganser (5); Hooded Merganser (19); BALD EAGLE (1ad: this bird may account for the low numbers of gulls and waterfowl on the river); Cooper's Hawk (1); Sharp-shinned Hawk (1); Red-tailed Hawk (1); Peregrine Falcon (2ad downtown one of which perched right at the top of the radio tower on the island in the middle of the river); Bonaparte's Gull (78); Black-headed Gull (2adW); E. Screech Owl (1); Red-bellied Woodpecker (3); Fish Crow (3);
TURNER RESERVOIR/CETRAL POND, E. PROVIDENCE: (many ducks at north end of Central Pond); Mute Swan (10); Canada Goose (267); Gadwall (5); Mallard (319); A. Black Duck (16); Canvasback (91); Ring-necked Duck (47); Lesser Scaup (124); Ruddy Duck (103); Hooded Merganser (36); Common Merganser (140); A. Coot (16);
OLNEY POND, LINCOLN WOODS: Great Blue Heron (1); Mallard (122); A. Black Duck (11); Common Merganser (17); Red-bellied Woodpecker (1); N. Flicker (1);
RT. 116 LINCOLN (near Ashton/Albion bridge) N. Flicker (6 in one spot);
DIAMOND HILL RESERVOIR, CUMBERLAND RI: Canada Goose (52); Mallard (18); A. Black Duck (3); Common Merganser (1);
RT. 122 CROSSING OF BLACKSTONE, BLACKSTONE MA: Mute Swan (2); Mallard (14);
WHITIN POND, UXBRIDGE MA Canada Goose (33); Mallard (79); A. Black Duck (35); N. Pintail (2m); Hooded Merganser (6); Common Merganser (2);
LINWOOD POND, NORTHBORO MA: Canada Goose (3); Wood Duck (1m); A. Wigeon (4); Mallard (44); N. Pintail (2m); Hooded Merganser (6);
The day was getting late, but we ended our trip with another adult Peregrine Falcon perched atop the spire of the City Hall in downtown Worcester. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/1/03 -- Leesville Pond, Worcester
On my way home from the Forbush Bird Club trip I stopped at Leesville pond and there was a Great Blue Heron. (report from Brian Mulhearn)

For previous sightings, see December 2002 Archives or Archive Index